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Monday, 6 June 2016

Blog Tour / Book Musings - Daughter of the Sun by Zoe Kalo

Blurb :

Sixteen-year-old Trinity was born during a solar eclipse and left at the doorsteps of a convent along with a torn piece of papyrus covered with ancient symbols. Raised by nuns in the English countryside, she leads a quiet life until she’s whisked away to the Island of Cats and a grandmother she never knew.

But before they can get to know each other, her grandmother dies. All that Trinity has left is a mysterious eye-shaped ring. And a thousand grieving cats. As Trinity tries to solve the enigma of the torn papyrus, she discovers a world of bloody sacrifices and evil curses, and a prophecy that points to her and her new feline abilities.

Unwilling to believe that any of the Egyptian gods could still be alive, Trinity turns to eighteen-year-old Seth and is instantly pulled into a vortex of sensations that forces her to confront her true self—and a horrifying destiny.

I have read mythology based fantasy books but it was always Greek or similar ones. This is the first book I have read about Egyptian mythology and times like this makes me realise that sometimes I kind of get closed minded about reading. After finishing this book, I have made the decision to further my reading habits in the hitherto unexplored mythology genres.

Now moving on to the book, I was literally reeled in with the promise of mythological mystery and I can say without any hesitation that the author has delivered. The blurb piqued my interest and I started the book in high hopes. But it was kind of dashed at the beginning since the start was very slow. Nearly half was spent in the teen drama and angst of Trinity's adjustment to the life on the island and her dramatic interactions with Seth, Ara and her posse. Later on, the story got a life and picked up speed and I felt it was kind of hasty in the end.

The characters were genuine and relatable. Trinity was strong and inspite of her secluded bringing up or because of that, she stayed true to her nature and strayed off course only few times, that too because of her temper. I can understand that since I have a hot temper too at times. Seth was intriguing with his background but I felt he was left at loose ends and wasn't given as much impact as he should have. Ava was a contradiction of sorts. I was sure she was same as her mother but she turned out a gem at the end. The villain was kind of obvious, to me with the hints being too strong to stay undetected. I felt that Margaret could have had a more detailed part in the book.

The story, as I said earlier, started off slow and got going at a steady pace with few expected and cliched situations and certain unexpected and totally surprising twists. The history based on the mythology was fascinating and the author has handled it well. I can see the series continuing on a good note in the sequel. The mystery behind Trinity was quite involved and engrossing enough to keep my attention. The narration was quite descriptive at times and the writing was simple and clean. The ending was surprisingly not a cliffhanger and for that, I am thankful to the author. At the same time, I can't help looking forward to reading the next book with the all the unanswered questions twirling around in my end.

All in all, it was a fascinating and unique read with fun elements and I can recommend this one to younger audiences who like mythological fantasy.

My rating : 4/5

Meet the Author :

A certified bookworm, Zoe Kalo has always been obsessed with books and reading. Reading led to writing—compulsively. No surprise that at 16, she wrote her first novel, which her classmates read and passed around secretly. The pleasure of writing and sharing her fantasy worlds has stayed with her, so now she wants to pass her stories to you with no secrecy—but with lots of mystery…

A daughter of adventurous expats, she’s had the good fortune of living on 3 continents, learning 4 languages, and experiencing a multicultural life. Currently, she’s working on a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature, which she balances between writing, taking care of her clowder of cats, and searching for the perfect bottle of pinot noir.